Burn, Baby, Burn!
by FE Girl 1
Summary: Our heroes Luneth, Arc, Ingus, Refia, and their friend Nina, rest for the night in the woods near Tokkul. With hilarity, romance, some angst, and many other things that happen, can anything else happen? ArcxOcxIngus; LunethxRefia


**I do not own "Final Fantasy III", but Nina is mine! Hope you enjoy this and if you have any Final Fantasy III fic requests, check my profile for details. Thank you and enjoy :)**

**Luneth: And why do you get to call the shots? You don't even own us like you said!**

**ME: Because I am the authoress of this story! Now shut up!**

**Refia: You got told, Looney Lun!**

**Luneth: HEY!!!**

**Ingus: You are so stubburn, Luneth.**

**Luneth: She's not our master! Why should we-**

***FE Girl points gun at Luneth***

**Luneth: Oh... crap...**

**Me: You were saying? Or shall I go for your leg for complaining?**

**Luneth: I'll be good!!!**

**Arc: S-so, like she said, FE Girl does not own Final Fantasy III... Except that Nina is hers...**

**Me: Arc, you can be so cute when you are shy!! *Glomps on Arc***

**Arc: *Blushes & smiles* I-I know...**

**Refia: So enjoy this fic!!**

* * *

"Arc, how is it that Firaga is performed?" Nina asked, confused on the Fire magic book she was reading.

Arc moved over to the red-haired girl and smiled. "You have to concentrate and then let your energy release the fire. Imagine a big inferno. Go ahead, try it."

Nina nodded and then she closed her eyes. She tried to imagine a big burst of flames, feeling some of her energy being circulated into power. Clinching her fists, she quickly spread her arms out with a small battle cry. Only a regular-sized flame was released before it touched the grass. She sighed as Arc stamped on the flames to put it out. He turned to the sad, unsatisfied girl, who had her head hung down with shame.

"I'm never going to get it right…" Nina muttered sadly.

"Don't give up!" Arc encouraged. "Just keep on trying and I am sure that you will be able to get it right! I know you can do it!"

The red-haired girl thought about it before she let out a grin. "Thanks, Arc! You make me feel so much better…"

The brown-haired boy blushed, sticking his hands out with defense. "N-no need to thank me! I am just helping you out as your friend! That's it, nothing more!"

Luneth came running and spoke with a goofy grin on his face, "Hey! Refia just got lulnch ready. So, come on, let's go!"

Arc frowned a little. "Are you ok, Luneth? You seem to be a bit… too cheery today…"

The silver-haired boy chuckled nervously. "Nope! Nothing is wrong with me today. Just having a very good morning. Come on, let's go!"

Nina and the boy beside her knew something that Luneth would never tell them and even Refia and Ingus! Luneth has had a crush on Refia since he first met her and would do anything to impress her. The Red Mage in-training giggled and the silver-haired boy looked at her with curiousity and confusion mixed on his face.

He asked, "What?"

"N-Nothing! Shall we go?"

* * *

Refia tapped her foot impatiently as she was waiting for Arc, Luneth, and Nina to show up. Ingus was glancing at her before he looked at his left to see if the mentioned three have arrived yet.

He said, "It sure is taking them a while to get here. Should we go look for them?"

"They can find their way back here! I bet Luneth got them lost again," Refia said with a small sigh. "How can I be worried now?"

"He did leave about ten minutes ago," the blond Red Mage pointed out.

The White Mage let out a small sigh once again. "Point taken. We'll give them five more minutes and if they do not arrive then, one of us will go look for them..." she quietly said.

Ingus could not help but let out a grin. He always thought of Refia as the mother of the group since she always looks after them in a motherly way, but with Luneth, she acts like more than a mother to him. In fact, Ingus was the only one who knew that Refia liked Luneth, but the two were stubborn to admit that to each other. Ingus looked at his best friend to see her crossing her arms with a loud huff and he shook his head, chuckling lightly. Refia pretended to ignore that. She thought about Kazus and hoped that all was well there, especially since she was not around to help out her father. She still dreads on running away and hoped to respect his ways of teaching her to be a blacksmith. Ingus thought about Princess Sara back at Sasune and hoped that she was holding out well until he has returned. In his heart, he missed his first best friend.

"HEY! WE'RE BACK!!!"

Ingus was broken from his thoughts as he looked up to see Luneth, Arc, and Nina coming to the camp. The White Mage beside him stood and marched over, her eyes darted at Luneth. The Warrior knew that he was in trouble and he was bracing himself for it. Arc and Nina backed away, knowing what was going to happen. Refia stood right in front of the silver-haired boy, her face inches from his, and he was sweating nervously.

Luneth stuttered, "H-hi, R-Refia! Wh-why are you looking at m-me l-like th-that?"

"You are in big trouble, mister!!" the orange-haired girl growled. "You have been making us wait for such a long time!! What is your excuse this time?!"

"They were hard to find, Refia! Honestly!" the silver-haired boy cried out, not liking when the girl snaps and scolds at him.

While the two were arguing, Nina glanced down at her Fire magic book. She turned to the campfire, which was already losing its flames. Ingus saw the glitter in her eyes and grinned, hoping that she was going to do what he thought was going to happen. She concentrated on her energy and then a huige inferno was fired at the campfire, getting big flames to light the fire. Everyone jumped to see what she did, even though Ingus was the first witness. They, including Nina, were speechless. Arc let out a huge grin, looking at his friend.

Luneth cried out, "What the heck just happened?!"

"I... I guess I managed to concentrate harder," Nina said, chuckling nervously, scratching the back of her head.

Silence filled the air before Ingus stood, walked over and patted her on the head. Everyone else could not believe what the blond was doing. Nina just gaped at Ingus like he had gone insane. The blond let out a chuckle.

He spoke, "I knew you could do it. Good job."

He walked off with his meal and all eyes continue to stick to him until they were on Nina. Luneth marched over and rapped his knuckles on the red-haired girl.

"Lucky! Ingus never compliments me! How come it is only you, Arc, and Refia?" Luneth let out a small sigh. "I'm going to eat now. Bye."

He walked off and Refia followed him with a small frown on her face. With her meal in her hands, she sat next to the Warrior and he was eating his vegetable soup slowly, in deep thought. She sighed and ate hers, her eyes stuck on him. He felt it, but tried to ignore it. When he could no longer take anymore of it, he glanced at her and glaring softly.

He asked, "What? Is something on my face? You never stared at me like that before."

Refia replied, "How come you are mean to Nina and Ingus? They have done nothing to you. Sure, you fight with them sometimes, mostly with Ingus, but why does it bother you to know that Ingus complimented her?"

"He used to be such an ass when we met him. It was 'Sara' this! 'Mil'lady' that! Agh! It drove me crazy! What's worse is that he treated us like children and acted like he was the boss of all of us!!" the silver-haired teen complained, his grip of his wooden spoon tightening.

"I agree that he does treat us like children, but you have to understand that he is the oldest of us, let alone you being the second-oldest. Me, Arc, and Nina do not mind it at all."

"Nina never knew that! We met her at that friggin' place where we met those Old Men! Sheesh! Those men thought that they were the Warriors of Light when WE happen to be the real ones! I swear, this world is messed up!"

Refia huffed. "Luneth, you just got to learn that life is sometimes messed up, but at least appreciate the life it has given you. Ever thought of that?"

Luneth's scowl faded, deeply thinking of what she had said to him. "I never thought of that..." He smiled at the orange-haired girl. "Thanks, Reffie. I always look on the bright side of life by listening to you."

The girl blushed scarlet red. "Wh-where the hell did that name come from? The only one who would call me that was my father!!"

Then Luneth blushed, looking down at his soup again. "Well, it's because... I like you. No! I love you!"

Refia let out a small gasp, almost dropping her bowl. "Wh-what?! What joke are you pulling this time?! If this is a joke just to get me flustered, you are in big trouble, you hear me?! Big-!!"

She was cut off when Luneth had his lips on hers. She was going to slap him, but he held her wrist and did not let go anytime now. She closed her eyes and found herself kissing him back. They pulled away a moment later and their bowls dropped. They realized it and then Refia glared at the silver-haired boy beside her.

"Look what you made us do!! I spent so much time making the soup!!" she growled angirly.

Luneth cried out, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-!!"

SLAP!!!!

* * *

"Did you hear a slap, guys?" Nina asked before she took a bite.

Ingus sighed. "Luneth must have made Refia angry again. When will he ever learn?"

Arc sighed softly. "Luneth will never change. That is how I know him."

Nina looked at him. "That's right! You and Luneth have been friends since you were children, am I right, Arc?"

The reddish-brown haired Red Mage nodded. "Yes. We have looked out for each other, although Luneth watched out for me more."

"He's like your brother, in other words," the Red Mage said.

Ingus chuckled. "You could say that. I was thinking of having the Theif job. What about you two?"

Arc spoke, "I was thinking of becoming a Black Belt."

"I plan to stay as a Red Mage. I was thinking of being a Devout, but I realized that it would be a pain to have a hood. I never liked hoods, so I am better off wearing a hat," the girl admitted.

"A hat person. Who would have thought?"

"Ingus..."

"What?"

"You're embarrassing me!"

"Sorry, Nina."

Arc laughed as the two were talking like brother and sister. He looked at Nina again and smiled brightly. He always loved how she would always look on the bright side of life and always had a positive attitude, even though she can sometimes look at negative things here and there. He also loved her smile and how she was there for her when Luneth or anyone else was not. The thing of why he admires her is because he is secretly in love with her, but is too shy and scared to tell her, fearing that it would end their friendship and that it would cause a lot of tension between them. He never wanted that to happen and he also hoped that it would never, ever happen. He asked Refia of what to do to let a girl know how he feels and she was glad to help him. He told Luneth about his secret and the silver-haired boy was glad to hear it from him, not to mention that he was very happy to find out that his bestfriend/foster brother had finally fallen in love with someone, being the shy person he was. Ingus gave him advice of how to not be shy around her, although he is still really shy.

Nina noticed that he was looking at her and asked, "Arc, is there something on my face? You seem to be spacing out while looking at me."

The reddish-brown haired Red Mage blushed. "N-nothing!! I mean- What I was doing was- I- Agh!!" He stood, putting his bowl down near the log he was sitting on. "I got to go take a... walk! Yeah, a walk! See you later!!"

He dashed off and the other two Red Mages just sat there, blinking. Ingus glanced at Nina and she was worried about Arc. She was going to go after him when the blond grabbed her wrist. She quickly turned her head at him and he looked back at her, his smile no longer on his face.

"Ingus, please. I must go after Arc. I'm worried about him!" the girl protested softly, not wanting to scare herself or Ingus.

The blond replied, "I know that you are worried, but sometimes he needs space. You and I can just talk and wait until he comes back."

"I know, but I noticed that he was acting strange lately and I want to know why! Please, let me go..."

"Nina... There is something I need to tell you. If you listen, I will let you go, ok? Please?"

The two looked at each for a long time. From brown to blue, their eyes would not tear away from their trance. Ingus slowly put his bowl down, reached his hand up, and touched her cheek softly, the gently rough leather glove touching her skin. Nina let out a soft gasp and felt a blush appear on her cheeks.

Ingus whispered, "Nina, for the longest time, I have been feeling a strange pull towards you. I tried to deny it, but now I can no longer avoid my feelings. However, I will not lose you to Arc!"

"Ingus, what are you-"

She was cut off when Ingus moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her head, pulling her face to his and having her lips crash on his. Nina's eyes were widened and she tried to pull away, but she couldn't since his grip was tight. She closed her eyes with a soft moan and then he pulled away. He saw the look on her face and he sighed.

He asked, "You do not feel the same for me, do you?"

Nina shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ingus, but I only see you as a friend. No one else has made me feel happy than Arc. He is the kindest guy I ever met and I never met anyone like him. I am sorry once again, Ingus, but I hope you understand..." She turned away. "Gotta go! Bye!"

She ran off and Ingus sat there on the log, heartbroken, defeated, and also a bit angry at the same time. He took a deep breath and his anger was washed away. He let out a small smile with a light chuckle before looking at the fire once again. He took his red hat off and put it down beside him.

He muttered, "I guess you win, Arc... I am no good for her after all, as I have feared. Take very good care of her..."

* * *

Nina kept on running, tears blinding her vision. She did not mean to hurt Ingus' feelings, but she had to tell him the truth, even if it would hurt the both of them. Soft sobs escaped from her mouth. Her heart was pounding loudly like a drum and sweat was soaking a bit of her clothes from her long sprint. Her throat was as dry and her legs were screaming at her to stop, but she did not listen.

However, her foot was caught on a tree root and she tripped, falling to the ground. She could feel the muscles of her ankle twist and she let out a loud cry of pain. Her Red Mage clothes were covered in dirt from the front and the red-haired girl turned her body around to see the damages. Her knee was bleeding and some blood trinkled down her injured leg. Nina gently touched her ankle and bit her bottom lip to keep her from screaming as she began to slowly move her ankle from the tree root. After a while, she succeeded, but she could not get up. She looked around for help and there was no one to be seen.

She called out, "Arc! Luneth! Refia! Ingus! Hey!! Help me!!"

There was no answer and the girl sighed, looking down. Her tears started to fall again and at that moment, she felt alone. That is, until she heard the sounds of the bushes rustling. Nina gasped and looked up at the bushes, fearing that it may be a monster preparing to attack her since she was valunerable and defenseless. She tried to move, only to feel more pain and she let out another cry. Squeezing her eyes, she was ready for her death.

"Nina, are you ok?"

Nina gasped, recognizing the voice. She opened her eyes to see that Arc had emerged from the bushes. She smiled weakly. Arc saw her injuries and widened his eyes, dashing over to her.

He cried out, "Are you ok?! What happened?!"

Then the Red Mage female looked down, feeling ashamed of him seeing her in such a horrible state. She wanted to be strong, but now it may seem to be impossible for her. She can never be as graceful as Ingus. She will never be as brave as Luneth. All she wanted was to be someone she wanted to be, but she was not. She started to cry softly and then she felt something brush away the tears. She looked up at Arc as he brushed the tears away.

Arc asked, "Did Ingus say something to you? It's ok not to tell me, that is if you want to..."

Nina looked down. "He... he told me that he loved me, but then I told him that I did not feel the same and that I only saw him as a friend. He looked so sad that I could not bear to look at him, so I ran off. I don't want to have a gap going on between us, Arc! What have I-"

The reddish-brown haired boy gently pressed a finger on her lips to stop her in mid sentence. She looked at him with a small blush on her face, mixed with the flush from her crying. He brushed more tears away before he removed his finger. He looked down at her wound and then put his hand on her twisted ankle as he began to use Curaga. Nina felt the cool sensation of the healing spell as the pain was slowly easing away. It felt nice and soon enough, her leg felt almost as good as new. She knew that Arc was still trying to master the level five White magic. Arc pulled his hand away and had his eyes back on her.

"How does it feel now?" he asked.

The girl observed it, moving it a little to feel no pain, but it felt a little sore. "A bit sore, but I am sure that I can walk now."

Arc looked around, seeing nothing in sight. "Well, it is almost dark, so we should get back to the camp before everyone gets worried about us. I just hope that Refia didn't kill Luneth."

Nina could not help but let out a grin. "Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. Who knows what might have happened."

She slowly got up and Arc held her forearm for support. She nodded to him with a smile and he smiled back, feeling thankful for helping a friend in need, like the boy he was. Soon her smiled faded as she looked down. Arc saw this and was very adjacent to her, his hand nearly touching hers.

"What?" he asked.

"Arc... the reason I also rejected Ingus was because... I'm in love with someone else... and... I am afraid to tell him since it may ruin our friendship..."

The Red Mage boy raised an eyebrow, looking at her with a confused look sketched on his face. "Who is this person?"

Nina looked away from him, her eyes still glued to the dirty ground. She gulped and felt her heart pounding loudly. Her palms started to sweat as she grew nervous. How she was going to tell him, she had no idea, but she had to at least try to let him get the message. Nina hoped that he would not be as oblivious as Luneth is. With a deep breath, she slowly turned her head towards Arc once again.

She explained, "Well, that person I am in love with is very nice, kind, helps anyone in need, and is very shy. He is always there for me when I have no one else to depend on and he is fun to be around with, even though he is shy around people as well. He listens when I tell him my problems and he comforts me whenever I am miserable..."

Arc thought, her words sinking into his mind, _This sounds very familiar... What she is saying sounds like... Wait a minute!!! Is she talking about...? No! I cannot just jump into something like that! That is what Luneth would always do! But... could it be possible?_

He looked right at Nina. "Nina, this person... is it... um... well, uh... m-me?"

He saw the girl's face turn red as she nodded before looking away. His heart pounded loudly, like a bird trapped in its cage, trying to escape. Heat rose in his cheeks as he put his hand on his chest, feeling his heart. Then he reached a hand and touched her shoulder gently, getting her to flinch. He inched closer to her, trying to get a good look of her, but she moved her face away, avoiding any eye contact with him.

Arc softly whispered, "Nina, I'm glad you told me. It is not a bad thing and it is not going to ruin our friendship. Not once did I ever not like you, because I do!"

Nina looked at him, tears welling in her eyes. "R-really? You're not mad at me?"

The boy shook his head. "No. Nina..." He gently touched her face, caressing it. "I love you... No one ever made me feel this way... That is... until I met you. I never thought that I would fall in love until now. I am glad that I met you..." he confessed with his warm smile.

The red-haired girl could not believe it. The one she loves loves her back! If she thought this was a dream, it was not! She realized that it was real when she saw the longing and affection in the boy's brown eyes. They moved closer and their noses brushed gently against one another. Their eyes were slowly closed and their lips were hardly an inch apart. They felt their breath against the other's lips and they looked at each other again. Finally, Arc made the first move as he gently resting a hand on Nina's cheek and then they completely closed their eyes before their lips finally met. It felt soft, warm, and nice at the same time and thier bodies were gently pressed together. Nina slowly snaked her arms around Arc's neck, pulling him close to her and he let out a soft moan. It was like an eternity to them as they kissed, not caring about anything else but each other during that time. Arc put his other arm around her waist as he moved his hand from her cheek to the nape of her neck, getting her to moan in return, feeling content and full of bliss.

Arc leaned on Nina more to get her on the ground and him on top of her. They pulled away and gazed into each other's eyes. Arc reached a hand out and stroked her face, her eyes closing with a moan of content as she pressed her cheek on that hand to feel his warmth. Arc smiled at his new lover and felt like he became a man.

He whispered, "Nina... are you happy with me?"

Then Nina looked at him and nodded, flashing him her smile that was one of the things that got the shy boy to fall for her. "Yes. Are you happy with me?" she asked softly, reaching a hand out and touching his soft, reddish-brown hair.

With a soft blush on his cheeks once again, the boy nodded. "I am..."

After that, he leaned back down and pressed his lips on hers gingerly and tenderly. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, her fingers running through his hair while her other hand was on his back. He slowly had his hand trailing down her side as Arc kissed her deeply. Nina let out a muffled gasp as she felt his tongue slowly touch her lips, wanting enterance into unknown territory and she gladly accepted. His tongue slowly went inside and started to explore it before her tongue met hers. They held each other close as they continued on with their making-out session. However, they had no idea that they were being watched...

Behind an adjacent bush, Refia whispered, "I hope they get at it!"

Ingus whispered back, "But that's too soon for them. Knowing the two of them, they are just going to take small steps of their relationship before they are ready for it. It is up to them, after all."

"Bah!" Luneth complained quietly. "You always have to give us the negative way, Ingus!"

"I am just speaking the truth of the ways of how a relationship goes. You do not need to be complaining about it, whiny boy..."

The silver-haired boy glared at the blond. "Take that back!!"

"What if I say no?"

"Then I will make you!"

"I would like to see you try..."

Refia rolled her eyes. "Boys will be boys, as men will be men..." she muttered, shaking her head.

* * *

**Me: Hope you liked it!**

**Luneth: NOW, WILL YOU START WORKING ON ME GETTING SOME LOVE, MRS. I-LOVE-ARC!!**

**Me: I will, if you start treating me nicely.**

**Luneth: Fine...**

**Refia: Hey! No mumbling!! *Starts slapping Luneth***

**Ingus and Arc: It never ends with Luneth and Refia...**


End file.
